The joyful holiday season is approaching, but along with that comes the dreadful cold. As our daylight dwindles, fall sports come to a close, and jackets become a necessity, many of us begin a period of hibernation that lasts until March. With this sudden change, we see the visible toll that cold weather takes on people’s social, academic, and personal lives, especially high schoolers.
Seasonal Affective Disorder, also known as seasonal depression, generally worsens in the winter due to the lack of sunlight and the shortening of days. Students at South confirm this—junior Preslava Tchesnovsky noted, “I feel like when you wake up and it’s dark, and you come back home, and it’s dark and freezing, it makes it really hard to be happy.” This feeling is valid, considering many of us are forced to spend increased time indoors and become detached from our usual activities.
As junior Enya Vahey stated, “I’m not a fan because it gets dark super early, and then it feels like the night is so long. I start to lose track of time, causing me to go to sleep later [and] get less sleep, making me cranky and tired.”
Similarly to these students, we have both noticed our own increasing tiredness and worsening moods during the winter, which we blame on the dispiriting weather. When we step out of school and see that it is already dark outside, it is not exactly uplifting. According to kidshealth.org, an increase in daylight creates more serotonin in the brain, whereas shorter days with longer hours of darkness cause the body to have less serotonin. Low levels of serotonin are associated with depression since serotonin affects people’s mood stability.
Additionally, school-related stress starts to pick up during the winter with mid-year exams and standardized tests. On top of that, students lose motivation as the year drags on. The cycle of waking up, going to school, and having hours of homework to complete each night becomes exhausting.
In a not-so-bright time of year, however, some people choose to look on the bright side. “I really like cold weather because I associate it with Christmas and presents,” said junior Carina Santucci. Junior Kayla Woo added, “If there’s snow, there’s something to be happy about. There’s a spirit.”
While it is true that there is a certain joy in the air—and in the hallways—leading up to the holidays, what about when December break is over and we return to school? There are no more holidays to look forward to, the fresh snow becomes muddy, and pretty soon, people are sick of the cold weather that will not seem to go away.
There is a reason winter seems to be the longest season. We are constantly waiting for the weather app to show that the temperature has exceeded 60 degrees, which is when we can get out of hibernation, socialize, and finally feel like ourselves again.
Although December brings some holiday cheer, this feeling fades as the months drag on, and we are left with only the negative aspects of winter: frigid temperatures, icy sidewalks, four o’clock sunsets, and a lingering feeling of sadness that lasts until March. No amount of romanticizing the cold weather will outweigh the negatives we deal with until the first sunny spring day.
